The present invention relates to a joystick controller for electric switches, of the type which is used for controlling the operation of certain electronic games and the like.
Prior joystick controllers typically include a housing enclosing a plurality of switches which may include, for example, direction control switches and a fire control switch, and handle means tiltably mounted on the housing for movement to actuate the direction control switches. The handle may include a push-button for actuating the fire control switch. The switches used in certain prior joystick controllers are leaf switches comprising a switch body molded around a pair of leaf spring switch blades. Discrete receptacles or sockets for the direction control switches are provided in the housing, and the switches are then interconnected by copper wires which are in turn interconnected to a control cable.
In order to minimize the wiring inside the housing, it is known to provide a printed circuit board in the housing on which are printed the interconnections among switches and one of the contacts for each switch. In such arrangements, the direction control switches are bubble or dome switches, wherein the movable switch contact is a resilient plate or membrane which is deflectable by an actuator into engagement with the printed contact. But such arrangements have relatively poor wear characteristics in that the resilient plate or membrane tends to wear out rapidly and/or have its resilience permanently altered with use, adversely affecting the sensitivity and reliability of the joystick controller.